Featured Reviews

Jules Taylor 2017 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris

29 November,2017

Jules Taylor is one of Marlborough’s winemaking stars,
having learnt her craft from some of the country’s most successful winemaking
mentors. Her own label was launched with
the 2001 vintage and she continues to make archetype regional wines with the
assistance of viticulturist Jeremy Hyland in sourcing high quality parcels of
fruit. Jules’ signature wine is arguably
the Sauvignon Blanc, but all of her bottlings are excellent. Here, I review the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc and
Pinot Gris, from a ‘challenging’ vintage.
The fruit selection and winemaking shows through in these wines. www.julestaylor.com

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

Jules Taylor Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017

Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand – Marlborough

18-/20

Bright, light straw-yellow colour, lighter on the edge. The nose is elegantly presented with soft and
harmoniously presented aromas of passionfruit with notes of gooseberries, cut
grass and white florals, along with nuances of minerals. Dry to taste and medium-bodied, the palate
has tightly bound and concentrated flavours of passionfruit, gooseberries,
nettles and mouthwatering minerals. The
palate has some phenolic texture and grip with fine, zesty acidity in the background. The wine flows with good linearity to an
elegant, dry finish of passionfruit, gooseberries and herbs. This is a taut, well-concentrated Sauvignon
Blanc with fresh passionfruit, gooseberry and cut grass flavours on a textured,
zesty, dry palate. Match with Pacific
Rim fare over the next 2 years. Fruit from
Taylors Pass, Awatere Valley, Lower Wairau and Hawkesbury, cool-fermented in
stainless-steel to 13.15% alc. and 3.2 g/L RS, the wine aged a short time on lees.
18.0-/20
Nov 2017 RRP $24.99

Jules Taylor Marlborough Pinot Gris 2017

Pinot Gris from New Zealand – Marlborough

18/20

Bright, even straw-yellow colour, a little lighter on the
rim. The nose is softly expressed with
good depth of white and yellow stonefruits melded with subtle notes of
honeysuckle, nuances of exotic florals, and hints of nuts and minerals. Dryish to taste and medium-bodied, the palate
has elegantly concentrated and balanced flavours of white and yellow
stonefruits along with nuances honeysuckle, exotic florals and minerals. The fruit forms a positive core and flows
with energy along a fine-textured line with balanced acidity. The flavours carry to an elegant, lingering,
nuanced finish of stonefruits and florals.
This is a moderately concentrated, well-balanced dry Pinot Gris with
stonefruit, floral and honeysuckle flavours on a fine-textured palate. Serve with Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese fare
over the next 3+ years. Fruit from
Taylors Pass and Lower Wairau, cool-fermented in tank, a portion hand-picked, WBP
and indigenous yeast fermented in barrel to 13.5% alc. and 3.5 g/L RS, the
barrel component undergoing lees aging and MLF. 18.0/20
Nov 2017 RRP $24.99